This is the first book to present a systematic analysis of the role of small manufacturing enterprises in the main European economies and to review different perspectives on industrial districts and clusters. Combining knowledge from case-study literature with original analyses of statistical data enables the authors to present full accounts of the role of these clusters in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, showing the considerable diversity of forms they take.

European cities are on the rise, taking advantage of the opportunities of the European integration and globalization processes. But they also face economic changes, social inequalities, poverty, and a new set of constraints. Taking examples through the European Union, the new book shows the impact of the transformation of the nation states on cities and the change of local societies and local governments. It argues that new modes of urban governance are emerging and that cities are becoming collective actors within the European governance.

This book examines patterns of economic governance in three specific, contrasting, contexts: machinery-producing districts; declining steel cities; and clusters of high-technology activities. Building on the work of their previous book (Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise? OUP 2001), which charted the recent development of local clusters of specialized manufacturing among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, the authors find patterns of economic governance far more complex and dynamic that usually described in a literature...

Regions in Europe explores the state of regional politics in an increasingly integrated Europe. It argues that the predicted rise of increased political power at the regional level has failed to materialise and is fraught with paradox. In doing so this study locates regions in relation to European integration, globalisation, the nation state, local government, and comparative and national perspectives.
Using case studies of the main players in Europe including:
* Germany
* France
* UK
* Italy
* Spain
* the Netherlands
* Belgium.
the...

Regions in Europe explores the state of regional politics in an increasingly integrated Europe. It argues that the predicted rise of increased political power at the regional level has failed to materialise and is fraught with paradox. In doing so this study locates regions in relation to European integration, globalisation, the nation state, local government, and comparative and national perspectives.
Using case studies of the main players in Europe including:
* Germany
* France
* UK
* Italy
* Spain
* the Netherlands
* Belgium.
the...

European cities are at the center of social, political and economic changes in Western Europe. This book develops a new analytical framework in urban sociology and politics, and examines the economics of cities, their social structures, and the modes and processes of governance. Each chapter comprises a comparison across several countries and examines critically the book's central theoretical perspective. This is not a book about the making of a Europe of cities but rather about how some cities can take advantage of their changing global and European environment.

European cities are at the center of social, political and economic changes in Western Europe. This book develops a new analytical framework in urban sociology and politics, and examines the economics of cities, their social structures, and the modes and processes of governance. Each chapter comprises a comparison across several countries and examines critically the book's central theoretical perspective. This is not a book about the making of a Europe of cities but rather about how some cities can take advantage of their changing global and European environment.

Globalised Minds, Roots in the City utilises empirical evidence from four European cities to explore the role of urban upper middle classes in the transformations experienced by contemporary European societies.

• Presents new empirical evidence collected through an original comparative research about professionals and managers in four European cities in three countries
• Features an innovative combination of approaches, methods, and techniques in its analyses of European post-national societies
• Reveals how segments of Europe's urban population are...

Globalised Minds, Roots in the City utilises empirical evidence from four European cities to explore the role of urban upper middle classes in the transformations experienced by contemporary European societies.

• Presents new empirical evidence collected through an original comparative research about professionals and managers in four European cities in three countries
• Features an innovative combination of approaches, methods, and techniques in its analyses of European post-national societies
• Reveals how segments of Europe's urban population are...

Reconfiguring European States in Crisis offers a ground-breaking analysis by some of Europe's leading political scientists, examining how the European national state and the European Union state have dealt with two sorts of changes in the last two decades. Firstly, the volume analyses the growth of performance measurement in government, the rise of new sorts of policy delivery agencies, the devolution of power to regions and cities, and the spread of neoliberal ideas in economic policy. The volume demonstrates how the rise of non-state controlled organizations and norms combine with...